England boss Thomas Tuchel reckons Jordan Henderson “embodies everything we are trying to build” after his recall to the Three Lions and aimed a jab at Manchester United over Marcus Rashford’s return.
Henderson has earned a shock recall to the England squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia, while Rashford has also returned to the fold along with Chelsea’s Reece James.
34-year-old Henderson hasn’t played for England since November 2023 in what we all assumed would be his last England cap, with the former Liverpool star greeted by a chorus of boos from Three Lions fans who took issue with the slap in the face he doled out to the LGBTQ+ community by leaving for Saudi Arabia ahead of a move to Ajax.
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But Tuchel is convinced Henderson “embodies everything we want from this term” and believes he can be part of a team the fans “are proud of and can identify with”.
Tuchel said in his press conference: “Jordan is a serial winner. He is captain of Ajax. He is available and has played a lot of matches. What he brings to every team is leadership, character, personality, energy.
“He makes sure that everyone lives by standards and with this characteristic he embodies everything that we try to build.
“We try to build a team for our fans and a team that they are proud of and can identity with. Jordan embodies everything that we want from this team.”
Newcastle’s Dan Burn was another surprise selection, earning his first call-up at the age of 32, but Tuchel was surprised he was yet to be given a chance for the national team, hailing the defender’s “leadership”.
He said: “I believe Burn and Henderson have every chance to be with us in the World Cup. International football is all about building team spirit, building a team that loves to be with each other, and transports the feeling of the team to the fans in the country. There has to be a good balance, a good mix, and that is what we are trying to do.
“They bring leadership, devotion, being humble, taking care of the group. Burn is such a tall guy but it is easy to overlook him. I was surprised he hadn’t been called up before. From my phone call with him, you instantly know you have turned to the right guy.”
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Rashford didn’t make the England squad for Euro 2024 and hasn’t played for the Three Lions since the friendly defeat to Brazil just under a year ago, but has been included in the squad having been revitalised on loan at Aston Villa.
The 27-year-old is yet to score for the Villans since his switch from Manchester United but has four assists in nine appearances to persuade the former Chelsea boss into giving him an opportunity for England.
And Tuchel revealed that part of his reasoning behind selecting Rashford was to “push him to stay on this level” rather than slipping into his “old routines” at Manchester United.
Tuchel said: “With Marcus, he is a familiar face but a different situation. I felt that he had a huge impact at Aston Villa, he made a huge impact from the bench mostly. The impact was impressive.
The physical impact was impressive and most importantly, his workrate, his defensive ability and tracking back was impressive.
“I had the strong feeling that we should nominate him, bring him in and to push him to stay on that level to not fall back on old routines. This camp is to push him to stay on this level.”
England squad in full
Goalkeepers
Jordan Pickford, Dean Henderson, Aaron Ramsdale, James Trafford
Defenders
Marc Guehi, Reece James, Levi Colwill, Ezri Konsa, Tino Livramento, Jarell Quansah, Dan Burn, Kyle Walker, Myles Lewis-Skelly
Midfielders
Jude Bellingham, Eberechi Eze, Jordan Henderson, Curtis Jones, Cole Palmer, Declan Rice, Morgan Rogers
Forwards
Anthony Gordon, Jarrod Bowen, Phil Foden, Marcus Rashford, Dominic Solanke, Harry Kane